Secret Garden
by Average Nerd 3456
Summary: "You're too late, I'm afraid this flower is already dead." A florist with a fatal illness who is unsure how long she has left to live takes an interest in the infamous Peaky Blinders after the end of WWI. Her best friend tries to warn her about the dangerous criminals, but she quickly gets fascinated with the strikingly gorgeous Thomas Shelby. Cancelled.
1. Sycamore

The war was finally over after what had felt like an eternity of hell with so many deaths and shocking new weapons that were invented. However, some of the soldiers that came back home were never the same after what had happened. This story began in the year 1919…

Barbara Whitehurst placed a potted plant on the counter and wiped sweat off her forehead before looking at her best friend and business partner, Jonathan Ives.

"Well, at least you haven't coughed there, Babs…" he said with a sigh of relief.

"I did earlier, Jon." she said. "I'll be fine."

Jonathan shook his head and said, "You always say that."

She nodded before noticing a man on a horse riding past their shop. She didn't see him well, but the feeling of his presence was definitely there.

"Jon, who was that?"

He went up to the window and adjusted his glasses, watching the horse and his rider go deeper into the streets of Birmingham.

"Oh, he's back…"

"Who's back? Do you know him?" Barbara asked.

"Not personally, but I take that it's one of the Shelby brothers. They were in the war from what I was told." Jonathan said.

Barbara nodded and fixed her red hair. She was aware of the Shelby Family, but only through whispers that they were notorious criminals who ran the city with their specialty being rigging horse races.

_I wonder if there was a way to talk to that man…_she thought.

"What else do you know about the Shelby brothers?"

"I'm sorry to say this, Babs, but they're probably not the same after the war like every other soldier that didn't die."

She sighed, knowing that the busiest they have been was giving bouquets to grieving families wishing to put flowers on their fallen family member's graves. Both her and Jonathan have been using their plants for more funerals than weddings through the war alone.

However, her curiosity about the Shelby Family only grew at the thought of them. It didn't hurt just to see them in person or interact with them once, right?

"I know that look. You aren't seriously thinking about interacting with those Blinders, right?" Jonathan asked.

Barbara blinked upon hearing this and asked him, "Blinders?"

"That's what they called themselves. When they first got control of the town, they were saying that this place is now under new management by order of the Peaky Blinders."

He had said the last part in a fake Irish accent, which made Barbara laugh. She had heard the term "Blinders" rarely since the mere mention of them sent chills down everyone's spines.

"I'll admit, it's all fascinating. Can you imagine getting close to them?"

Jonathan gulped, knowing that death would most likely follow if one were to encounter them. The last thing he wanted to see was his best friend getting slashed with a razor blade filled cap thanks to an infamous criminal, especially one that was most likely suffering from war trauma.

Barbara, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about it as she grabbed another plant to put on display.


	2. Hibiscus Rose

The Ancient Raven Pub was normally not a place for criminals despite being across the street from the infamous Garrison where the gangs would go. The road that separated them was a barrier between normal society and the criminal underworld.

Jonathan and Barbara walked into the pub after a long day of selling flowers to various clients from grieving families of fallen soldiers to nervous boyfriends wanting to give bouquets to their sweethearts.

Cigarette smoke rose to the ceiling as Barbara coughed, much to Jonathan's worry.

"I'll be fine…" she said to him.

They took their seats at the bar as Jonathan said to the bartender, "Two vodkas, William."

Once they got their drinks, the duo started a conversation.

"Nothing like drinks after long days of giving flowers, am I right, Babs?"

"You are, Jon. I—"

Suddenly, the doors burst open as two figures in grey caps walked in, causing everyone to cower in fear while Jonathan turned Barbara away from them.

"Don't make eye contact. I have no idea why they're here…" he said to her.

She got a glimpse of the men taking off their hats to show off their identical haircuts and heard Jonathan let out a small whimper upon seeing that.

"Whiskey." one of the men said to the bartender in a thick Irish accent.

"Make that two, mate." the other man said in a similar accent.

The bartender shook as he gave them their drinks. The two men stood near the bar and had their drinks until one of them saw Barbara sitting near them.

"So, what's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?" the first one asked.

"Me? Oh, I come here often!" Barbara said with a laugh. "My name's Barbara Whitehurst, but my friends call me Babs."

"Barbara is your name? I take the terrified bloke there is your boyfriend?" the second man asked her as he pointed to Jonathan, who let out a terrified sound.

"No, he's just my best friend. We like to grab drinks after long days of business." she said.

The doors opened again as a gruff, deep voice said, "Arthur, John, get your fucking arses away from the drinkers."

Everyone gasped and hid while the man walked in and took his cap off. He was truly a sight to behold with the haircut that was the same as the two other men and the perfectly chiseled face. He towered over the other people in the pub with a cigarette clenched in his teeth, which made Barbara stare in awe. He also had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, reminding her of sapphires.

Despite his voice sounding so harsh and cold, it sent shivers down her spine and she…oddly enjoyed it.

"Sorry, Tommy…" Arthur and John said in unison while backing away.

"Arthur? John? Tommy? Oh god, they're the Shelby brothers…they're Blinders! They should be at the Garrison!" Jonathan said to himself in a panic.

The man turned to the bartender, who was sweating bullets just by looking at him.

"I need a whiskey. Ice it." the man said.

Once the bartender gave him the drink, Barbara stood up with a smile on her face and held her hand out to him.

"Hello, I haven't seen you or your friends around here. I'm Barbara." she said.

He stared at her hand and raised an eyebrow at her. Barbara could tell that he was a bit confused, yet there seemed to be a gleam of surprise in his eyes. She then noticed a gleam of silver coming from his cap as well as the other two's hats.

"What were you looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing, sir." Barbara said. "So, what brings you around these parts?"

"This place is under new management by order of the Peaky Blinders." he said casually.

Jonathan's eyes widened upon hearing that. This sounded bad…

"So, I guess my best friend and I will be seeing you and your brothers more often, Mr. Shelby?" Barbara asked.

"How the hell do you know that?" he asked while taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

Barbara shrugged and said, "I've heard the rumors about you and your family."

He let out a humorless laugh and took a sip of his drink, which Barbara took as a remark to her comment.

"I'm sure you have, Miss…" he said.

"Whitehurst. My last name is Whitehurst." she said to him.

He nodded and before he could say anything else, Jonathan dragged Barbara out of the pub in a panicked hurry.

"Babs, what were you thinking?" he asked her.

"Jon, they didn't seem so bad as you and everyone else make them out to be." she said.

"It's not that I'm worried about. They got the pub under THEIR control and OUR flower shop could be next…" Jonathan said. "We could end up on the streets or worse!"


	3. Yellow Tulip

Thomas Shelby looked over a map of the area as he dropped his cigarette into the nearby ash tray. The acquisition of The Ancient Raven Pub was a good start and all that was left was expansion, but where was the best place to continue?

"Here's the plan, we start the protection payments tomorrow and with that, we begin expansions immediately." he said to his family.

"Well, at least they're bloody terrified of us. That's a good start." Arthur said with a shrug.

Ava rolled her eyes and said, "Of course, you managed to scare them just by being there…"

"We have to focus." their aunt, Polly, said before pointing at one of the buildings. "How about this one? It's only a few blocks away from the pub."

Thomas looked over at where his aunt was pointing and saw the words "Whitehurst and Ives' Floral Shop" on it. He remembered the Whitehurst girl approach and greet him with that bright smile of hers, her wavy light red hair nicely framing her face, and those turquoise eyes filled with life.

She wasn't afraid of him like everyone else and it interested him. Taking away her business would be an awful thing to do, even by his standards.

"I apologize, Aunt Polly, but NO. The flower shop will not be under our control." he said to her.

John crossed his arms and let out a small laugh, asking, "When did you get so interested in flowers, Tommy? You don't seem like that kind of person."

"John, don't start…" Thomas said in a stern tone.

"Sorry, Tommy." he said.

He rolled his eyes at his brother and looked at the place the flower shop was marked.

_We WILL be seeing each other more often, Miss Whitehurst…_Thomas thought.

* * *

Barbara knew how much Jonathan loved the flower shop and she felt his pain about the potential takeover by the Peaky Blinders; this place meant everything to both of them. She could remember when he offered her the job to assist him once she moved out of her family's home in London.

She approached the small picture frame on the nightstand next to her bed in her small apartment above the flower shop (Jonathan lived in the apartment next to hers). Five figures stood together in a black and white photo with smiles on their faces.

Barbara could feel tears rush down her eyes as she stared at the man with red hair on the left end of the photo: her father, Allan.

He was tough, yet humble who worked as an officer. Everyone always went to him for advice and he would go out of his way to help them. However, his not-so nice side would come out if someone were to go against his word. Barbara could remember when he would scold her for disobeying him (which happened a lot), but she knew how much her brother, Evan, dreamed of being just like him. However, he passed away when Barbara was seventeen.

Then, she focused on the brunette woman in the middle of the photo. Crystal Whitehurst was a nurse who tended to stay home and take care of Barbara and her siblings. She was the only one Barbara was ever close with while she was still alive since she used to comfort her whenever she was sad. Her death took a toll on eleven-year-old Barbara that she didn't sleep for days.

Barbara glanced at the two brunettes on either side of her: Minnie and Evan, her siblings. Minnie was the adventurous type and always found herself in trouble, which gave Barbara the idea to do whatever she did, angering their father. Evan, on the other hand, was well behaved and the golden child.

Minnie was the main parental figure for Barbara and Evan after their parents' deaths. However, she would shut them out whenever they brought up their mother and father. As for Evan, he always cheered Barbara up whenever she was upset and always had a smile on his face.

Now, Evan was dead after the war since he wanted to serve his country while Minnie moved away to Paris with her fiancée, leaving Barbara with no family left. That was when she went to Birmingham and met Jonathan.

How she missed her family…she wiped her eyes and jumped when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" she said while finishing a cough.

Jonathan walked in and said, "Look, Babs, I heard from our neighbors that the Blinders started doing protection fees. We're next…we are dead…"

"I-I could get it to them if possible."

"No, I can't let you do that! It's way too dangerous. The town already chose someone to collect the money. We'll just give it to that person and we can be safe."

Barbara let out a shaky sigh, unsure how to process this. What were they supposed to do now?


	4. Lilac

The following day was somewhat depressing as Jonathan sighed and shook his head while Barbara watered the plants and put new flowers up on display.

"We're dead, Babs…this could be our last day in the shop before we end up on the streets while the Blinders bleed our beloved flower shop dry." he said.

"I don't know what we'll do without it. This is my only home and you're the closest thing to family for me since…" Barbara said.

"I know, we can't risk getting thrown out of our home and business. It scares me so much that this place would get taken over by criminals."

"Jon, I don't—"

Suddenly, the doors burst open as Thomas entered the shop, making Jonathan duck behind the cash register in fear while Barbara began to sweat.

_I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die…_Jonathan thought.

"H-How may we help you, Mr. Shelby?" Barbara asked, her heart pounding in her chest from fear.

"I'm here…" he began to say.

"We're dead." Jonathan said to his friend. "Whitehurst and Ives' Floral Shop is under new management by order of the Peaky Blinders…"

"…to place an order." Thomas said as the two flower shop owners looked at each other in surprise.

"W-What's the occasion?" Jonathan asked.

"My brother, John, is getting married and we need flowers to pin to his suit as well as for me and Arthur, my older brother." the gangster said to them.

"We'll get onto it right away." Barbara said before getting to work on the flowers.

As she and Jonathan worked, she coughed for a second and looked over at Thomas, who was gazing at some of the plants.

"Oh god, I know that look…Babs, don't even think about—" Jonathan began to say before Barbara walked past him. "Oh come on!"

Barbara sighed and went up to her customer who was gazing at an orchid. She stood next to him and cleared her throat.

"What is it, Miss Whitehurst?" Thomas asked.

"I wanted to ask you something, Mr. Shelby." Barbara said. "Why didn't you just take over the shop when you had the chance? Are we going to still have to pay the protection fee?"

"Don't ask too many questions. I'm going to make you and your friend a deal." he said while tapping the pot the orchid was in.

"What deal?"

"If you and Mr. Ives manage to do your job correctly, I'll consider lowering your protection fee to one shilling. If not, you both might have to pay the same price as everyone else."

"D-Death?" Jonathan asked as he finished the flowers.

"No, you will have to pay the average protection fee like the others. I'm a fair man and one of my word." Thomas said. "I swear, I won't tell anyone in my family about this."

He winked at Barbara, who blushed at this. Jonathan raised an eyebrow while trying to desperately keep his shaking under control.

She turned to Jonathan. He shook his head repeatedly as she pondered her answer.

_This could be our only option to save the shop…_she thought while watching Thomas hold his hand out.

"It's a deal." Barbara said before shaking his hand.

* * *

The wedding and reception were mostly relaxed, except for Jonathan's occasional meltdowns, but they were able to do their job with ease.

"There's Blinders everywhere, along with gypsies and possibly communists…why the bloody hell does this have to happen to us?" he asked himself before grabbing a drink.

Barbara stared at him in concern as she went around fixing the flowers pinned to the men's suits. Compared to her best friend, she was calmer than him in this whole situation, even if she knew the stakes were high if they made one mistake.

She then adjusted one of the plants before Thomas approached her and took the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Oh! My apologies, Mr. Shelby! I can't believe I forgot about you." Barbara said while fixing the flower on his suit.

"Thank you. You and your friend have done well at this, even if he's under immense pressure." Thomas said.

She laughed and looked back at Jonathan, who was running around from a waiter serving drinks to the plants nearby.

"Jon gets easily scared sometimes, but he's actually a nice person. This was a high stakes situation and he was very worried. The shop means the world to him like it does to me."

"I see. So, since you're a florist, what's your favorite flower?"

"For me, I've always loved buttercups." Barbara said. "They seemed to have a bright glow when the sun shines on them."

"Buttercups are toxic to horses," Thomas said.

"Oh, I didn't know that! Do you have a favorite flower?"

"I don't have a particular preference, Miss Whitehurst."

Barbara smiled at him and said, "You don't need to be so formal with me. You can call me either Barbara or Babs, Mr. Shelby."

"And you can be free to call me Thomas or Tommy, Barbara. You don't always have to be formal." he said to her.

She smiled and brushed her hair back.

_Maybe the Shelby family aren't as bad as they seem…_Barbara thought.


	5. Eglantine Rose

"I can't believe we can finally breathe! You have no idea how scared I was during the wedding, Babs!" Jonathan said with a relieved sigh before noticing that she was crying. "Are you alright?"

Barbara took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes, saying, "I tried calling my sister earlier, but she shut me out just like she used to do to me and our brother. She told me that I shouldn't call her."

Jonathan pulled her into a hug to comfort her.

"It's going to be okay, I'll be right here…Shhh, you'll be fine, Babs…"

"T-Thank you, Jon."

At the moment she got back to work, the door opened and a voice asked them, "Are you two going to work or not?"

They froze and saw a mustachioed man storm into the shop. The two adjusted themselves and before they could speak, he was quick to interrupt them.

"I'm Inspector Campbell. I'm here to investigate the stolen guns and get rid of the criminal activity in the area." he said. "Were they here?"

"They? Who do you mean, inspector?" Jonathan asked.

"The Blinders! I've heard they took over the pub nearby recently, so there must be something you two know." Inspector Campbell said.

Jonathan and Barbara stared at each other in worry, knowing that they couldn't give anything away since they had gotten friendly with the gangsters two weeks ago.

"I don't know anything, inspector." Barbara said while clearing her throat. "I swear, this part of town isn't crawling with criminals. You have to be mistaken."

Inspector Campbell shook his head at her and turned to Jonathan, asking, "What about you?"

Jonathan let out a fearful squeak when he stared at him. He was scarier than the Shelby family and that was a new problem for him…

_Coward…_Inspector Campbell thought, watching the young man hide.

"If any of you find anything suspicious or if they manage to take over your shop, find me immediately." he said before leaving.

Once he was gone, Jonathan came out of his hiding spot and went back to working alongside Barbara.

* * *

Finally, the day was over and they could go to the pub since drinks were definitely needed after that encounter with the inspector. The two flower shop owners got their drinks and tried to get over the insanity that today had been.

"Jon, do you mind if I have a moment alone?" Barbara asked as she stood up and grabbed her drink.

"Uh, sure. Just be careful, alright?" Jonathan said.

She nodded and went to stand in a corner of the pub towards the back. From her sister refusing to talk to her to the inspector intimidating them, today hadn't been the best for Barbara.

_Bloody hell, Babs, you need to cheer up somehow…_she thought before someone tapped the edge of the bar near her.

The smell of a cigarette was almost overpowering as she cleared her throat to stop herself from coughing. No one needed to know that she was sick…

"Rough day, love?" a familiar voice beside her asked.

Barbara jumped and turned to see Thomas taking his cigarette out of his mouth, the smoke coming from it and dark lighting of the pub making him appear mysterious.

"Tommy, I didn't expect you here." Barbara said before noticing a blood stain on his sleeve. "You're hurt…It appears fresh."

"Yes, I had a fucking awful day as well. How did you know that?"

"My mother was a nurse, so I learned a few things from her. I'm not as good as her though."

Thomas nodded at her and took a sip of his whiskey before saying, "Now, care to tell me why your day was so terrible."

"Well, first, I called my sister earlier since we haven't spoken in years, but she dismissed me and hung up. After that, Jon and I were visited by the inspector who asked us questions." Barbara said while drinking her vodka.

Thomas's expression immediately changed from indifference to concern as he heard that.

"Were they about me and my family?"

Barbara nodded and sighed, staring at her glass.

"Jon and I didn't tell him anything about you or your family. The inspector scared poor Jon though."

Thomas stared at her, thinking about what to say. He couldn't get her and her friend roped into this mess, especially not her…

"If he comes by your shop again, find me or any of my brothers IMMEDIATELY. We'll drive his arse out of there. You have my word, Barbara." he said.

Barbara brushed back a stray strand of hair while blushing and said, "I appreciate it, Tommy. Thank you so much…"

Did she see him as a friend? He did help her and Jonathan with the flower shop situation and offered to assist them with the inspector. Sometimes, she got excited and blushed just by looking at him. Maybe there was more to this relationship?

"The pleasure's all mine."

Barbara smiled at him.

"Come on, Jon and I will get you healed up in no time."

* * *

**Later, at Barbara's apartment…**

"Now, hold still…" she said as she wrapped the gauze around the wound. "There! You're done, Tommy."

Thomas rolled his sleeve back down and nodded, saying, "Impressive. Your mother taught you well."

"Yes, she did. Before she…" Barbara said with a sigh.

Jonathan went up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder while letting out a squeak upon locking eyes with Thomas.

"Jon, you do realize that you need to get along with him, right?" she asked. "You can't be afraid of him and his family forever."

"But—" he began to say before being pushed forward by his best friend.

"Please? You're my best friend. Do it for me since it'll help you get over your fears." Barbara said.

He shook his head at her and held out his hand to Thomas, saying, "I'm Jonathan Ives…everyone calls me Jon, Mr. Shelby."

_This man probably has SO much blood on his hands._ Jonathan thought.

"My name is Thomas Shelby. Barbara has told me a lot about you." he said while shaking his hand. "Charmed to meet you."

"He isn't that bad now, right, Jon?" Barbara asked her best friend.

"I guess…" he said with a deep breath.

Barbara grinned at them. At least things were going well between her best friend and the man that helped save their flower shop…


	6. Azalea

Once they closed the shop for the day, things had gone as usual for Barbara and Jonathan. After discussing things from the Shelby Family to plans for tomorrow. It wasn't until after they called it a night and went back to their apartments was when it happened…

It was the middle of the night when Jonathan was awoken by the sounds of hacking from Barbara's apartment room. He immediately panicked and ran out of his apartment, slowly approaching the door.

He then ran in and gasped, saying, "Oh shit! Babs!"

Barbara was crouched over and coughing up blood as she held a napkin to her mouth. No matter how hard she was pushing to stop the bleeding, it still came down her hands.

"I can't believe this is happening again…" Jonathan said. "I-I'll get help, maybe a doctor or Thomas and his brothers…"

"No, Jon. He…he doesn't need to know." she said.

Barbara was paler than normal with blood dripping out of her mouth and Jonathan was all too familiar with this as he began wiping the blood off her.

"Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out. You're going to be fine, Babs."

"I-I know. Thanks…"

She kept gripping the counter and trying to breathe while Jonathan ran to get her some water.

"Here. Drink this." Jonathan said as Barbara took the glass from him and drank it.

"Jon, I…" she began to say once she was finished.

"You should get some rest. I can handle running the shop on my own tomorrow since you need a break."

"You're right. I should."

With that said, she quickly went to her room to get some sleep as Jonathan left.

* * *

The next day, Jonathan was busy watering the plants while worrying about Barbara's health. He was the only person (other than Barbara herself) who knew about her condition and in the back of his mind, he knew that Thomas had to know since she appeared to have feelings for him.

Without her help, the day was slow and boring without having his best friend to talk with and make everything go faster. He was about to move onto the next plant when the door opened, causing him to quickly get into position.

Much to his surprise, it was Thomas.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Shelby. Are you here to place another order?" he asked.

The gangster looked around and asked him, "Where's Barbara?"

"She's…not feeling well."

"Is that so? To answer your question on why I'm here, no, I'm not here to place an order. I came to ask her something."

Before Jonathan could say anything else, Barbara arrived with a smile on her face as if last night's events never happened at all.

"Good morning, Jon!" she said before noticing Thomas. "Oh! Tommy, I didn't notice you there."

He nodded at her while Jonathan gave her a concerned look.

"You see, Mr. Shelby wanted to ask you something. He's not here for any orders." Jonathan said.

_She's lying that she's in a good mood. Poor girl…_he thought.

Barbara blushed when he turned to her and asked him, "What is it that you wanted to ask me?"

"There is a race coming up tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the event." Thomas said.

Jonathan stared at his best friend as she grinned at him, making him wince that she was still convinced that she was fine despite coughing up blood last night.

"I would love to!" she said.

_Oh, Babs, you should've just rested. You HAVE to tell him. _Jonathan thought.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The three Shelby brothers sat at the bar in the Garrison while discussing what Thomas had done earlier that day.

"Bloody hell, you decided to do what?" Arthur asked, his jaw dropping.

"I decided to ask her to accompany me to tomorrow's race." Thomas said. "And she accepted."

"You like her, don't you, Tommy?" John asked with a playful smirk.

"She's a friend of mine. That's all." his brother said, shrugging.

"And she's the florist with that cowardly best friend." Arthur said.

Thomas nodded and stared at his whiskey. He liked her as a friend, yes, but there was more to it than his brothers could ever understand. Barbara was full of surprises to him and he enjoyed every little thing about her.

"Well, would you look at that? The great Sergeant Major and crime boss Thomas Shelby has been defeated by a mere florist with a best friend who cowers in fear by your very presence." John said.

"Oh, just fucking stop, John…" Thomas said under his breath.

All he had was one more day to finally be alone with her…


	7. Heliotrope

"I don't know about this, Babs. You were coughing up blood the other night. What if—" Jonathan began to say.

"Don't worry, Jon. I'll do my damnedest to make sure that Tommy doesn't know." Barbara said while fixing her hair in the mirror.

"You need to tell him if you're serious about your…interest in him."

"I know, but I can't tell him. How would he react? Would he leave me behind like my sister had done to me?"

Jonathan sighed upon hearing this and shook his head, saying, "I have no idea. Those Blinders are unpredictable, I mean, we didn't expect them to give us that job at the wedding."

"Jon, you might be right, but I'm going to enjoy today and I'll see what happens." Barbara said with a sigh.

Before Jonathan could speak up, she was already gone. He took a deep breath and grabbed one of the plants to start work on selling them…

* * *

Barbara walked around the seats in the stadium until she saw a familiar cap nearby. Her excitement escalated as she ran up and sat next to Thomas. She tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to her and said, "So, you managed to show up…I have a present for you, love."

With that, he put a buttercup in her hair, watching her look up at it and gasp happily.

"You got me a buttercup?!" she asked. "Thank you so much!"

"I know how much you adore them, so I found this near the entrance and saved it for you."

"Oh, you're such a gentleman, Tommy!"

She smiled at him before watching his focus shift to the race happening. Barbara assumed that the rumors HAD to be true that his family's main business was rigging horse races judging by the intense concentration he showed.

Jonathan's words about telling Thomas about her illness echoed through her head. Before she could speak up, her face grew hot once she realized that Thomas had his hand on top of hers.

"Are you alright? You seem distracted." he asked her.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Barbara said with a nod. "So…is it all true? About your family being involved with these races."

"Why, of course, it is. Now, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Barbara nodded and fidgeted with her skirt, unaware on what his question might be.

"Go on. I don't mind at all."

Thomas lit a cigarette and stared at her, sitting in silence to ponder on what to ask. They spent a moment gazing into each other's eyes in a staring contest of sorts. Barbara blushed at him while feeling her heart hammer into her chest rapidly.

"So, what's the question?" she asked, which broke the silence.

"When I first heard your last name, I thought it sounded familiar to me…" Thomas said. "Then, I remembered that my brothers and I knew a soldier named Evan Whitehurst during the war."

"You knew my brother? How did you manage to interact with him before his death?"

He took his cap off and sighed.

"I was a sergeant major during the war. Your brother was a brave young man and one of the most optimistic men I've ever met despite the harsh conditions. He followed me around all the time and has accidently called me father on occasion."

Barbara sighed, knowing that Evan never really had a father figure after their dad's death. She went back to messing with the skirt while biting her lip. The thoughts about her little brother were interrupted when Thomas gave her hand a small squeeze to get her attention.

"Barbara, are you sure you're alright?" he asked her.

She could hear Jonathan screaming to tell him the truth in the back of her mind. Maybe he was right, she HAD been hiding this for as long as she and Thomas had known each other, even longer.

"I need a drink. Could we go to The Ancient Raven?" she asked. "I'm sorry if it was so sudden."

He looked back at the race and put his cigarette out, shaking his head.

_I'm sure Arthur and John will give me the information on the race later…_he thought.

"No, it's alright, love. We can go." Thomas said before holding his arm out to her.

* * *

The two sat towards the back of the pub and were silent with the exception of the occasional sigh. Barbara finished her drink and gave her glass to the bartender for a refill, wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Barbara?" Thomas asked her.

"I'm fine, Tommy. Really, I am." she said.

"You were crying. I don't think that it means that you're doing well…"

She froze for a moment to think about what to say and sighed.

"I appreciate that you care so much about my well-being. No one outside of Jon had been this kind to me before."

Immediately, he kissed her forehead, which made her breathing increase as she looked into his eyes. Without thinking twice, she grabbed him by the hand and stood up with him before kissing him.

It was the moment they both have been waiting for…they quickly let each other go as Barbara stepped back and went towards a corner. She needed to tell him, there was no use in hiding now…

He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If there is anything wrong, you can tell me, love." Thomas said.

"No…" Barbara said under her breath in between sobs.

The gangster raised an eyebrow at her response and turned her to face him.

"What's wrong? PLEASE, tell me."

She could hear Jonathan saying to her to tell him again and that she couldn't avoid it.

"I'm…sick, Tommy. We can't—"

"Sick? Is that what's wrong with you?" he asked.

"It's NOT that! Tommy, I'm…I'm dying…" Barbara said.


End file.
